Brace for screens, blinds, &amp;c.



No. 7:0,022. Patented Sept." 30, I902.

M. H. STEVENS. v amuse FUR scnEENs, BUNDS, &c.

(Application filed May 26, 1802.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MILTON I-I. STEVENS, OF WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

BRACE FOR SCREENS, BLINDS, 84c.

SPECIFICATION formingpart Of Letters Patent N0. 710,022, dated September 30, 1902.

Application filed May 26, 1902. Serial No. 108,896. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MILTON H. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waltham, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Braces for Screens, Blinds, &c., of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention is a corner brace or bracket for door-screens,blinds, or any other situation where a frame or similar device requires strengthening at a corner. I am aware that there are many devices of this kind already, my present invention having for its object the provision of a special'form andmeans for combining great strength of construction and efficiency of use with economy of material and cheapness of manufacture. To these ends I have devised a construction having an extended body part adapted to lie fiat against the surface to be strengthened and provided with flanges for engaging the inner edges of the article,said body part having such a shape as to brace the article and receive fastening means to the best advantage,and the brackets being of such shape as to be struck up in succession from a strip of metal without appreciable loss of material or of special manipulation,my object being to secure extreme simplicity of product and ofrthe making thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention, Figure l is a perspective view of a bracket or brace. Fig. 2 illustrates in perspective the manner of use thereof, a'righthand and left-hand brace being shown-in position on a blind. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a strip of sheet metal, showing the manner in which the successive brackets or braces are disposed along the material prior to being cut therefrom.

The bracket itself may be explained very simply, as it consists of a body part A,compris ing a vertical portion a,horizontal part a, and

oblique part a and two fianges-a flange a located at the lower edge of the horizontal part 01/, and a flange a, extending at right angles to the flange a and located at the inner edge of the upright portion a. It will be seen that the arrangement is such that a screw hole I), located in the lower end of the upright portion a, will bring the fastening device ontirely below the joint where the cross-bar c enters the upright c of the blind or other device and that the oblique part a? of the bracket extends over a considerable area of the crossbar 0 and upright 0', while its two screwholes I) b are at a distance from the joint end of the cross-bar c,while the remaining screwhole 12 is back from the edge of the upright c as far as possible, being shown as approximately at the middle thereof in Fig. 2.

One chief purpose had in View is to enable a strip of sheet metal, as is indicated at D, Fig. 3, to be run through a shearing or dyeing machine and turn out braces or brackets with the least expense of machinery, material, and labor, and accordingly it will be seen, viewing Fig. 3, that the successive brackets are of such shape that they mutually cooperate in saving material and bringing substantiallyall ot' the cuts on straight lines. For example, the successive pairs of brackets are separated by oblique straight lines 2 2, and the brackets of a given pair are separated by the lines 3 3, so that the small portions 4, 5, and 6 only have to be removed and lost.

The successive brackets are sheared apart on the oblique line 2, and the upper end of the bracket is formed by cutting ofi the triangular piece 5 by the straight out 7.

The two flanges a 0. are separated by a cut 8, and the opposite edges 9 10 of the brackets are formed by the edges of the metal strip.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the bracket as shaped and arranged according to my invention may be made without appreciable waste of material, and may be practically completed by one blow or stamping.

As already stated, I am aware that there are various brackets already on the market and invented for strengthening corner-places, and accordinglyI have limited my invention, as will be more apparent from the following claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A strengthening-brace for screens,blinds,

&c., comprising a vertical portion, a horizontal part and an oblique part, integrally connected and adapted to lie flat against the material adjacent a corner of a blind or screen, the oblique part extending over the cross-bar or other member of the screen and lapping onto the upright thereof, and the vertical portion extending along the latter below the cross-bar, the lower edge of the horizontal part and the inner edge of the vertical portion being provided with inwardly-turned flanges extending substantially at right angles to each other for engaging the edges of the said cross-bar and upright.

2. A strengthening-brace for screens,blinds, &c., comprising a vertical portion, a horizontal part and an oblique part, integrally connected and adapted to lie flat against the material adjacent a corner of a blind or screen, the oblique part extending over the cross-bar or other member of the screen, and the vertical portion extending along the latter below the cross-bar, the lower edge of the horizontal part and the inner edge of the vertical portion being provided with inwardly-turned flanges extending substantially at right angles to each other for engaging the edges of the said cross-bar and upright, said vertical portion having provision for a fastening device at its lower end below said horizontal part, the latter having provision for a fastening device at the end adjacent said oblique part, and the upright having provision for another fastening device adjacent the opposite end of said oblique part.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MILTON H. STEVENS.

Witnesses:

O. H. WHITTEN, E. B. STEVENS. 

